One of the ways to express lateness in Chinese is with 才 (cái).
Structure
To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才.
Subj. + Time Word + 才 + Verb-Obj.
In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time number of some sort, like a specific time, age etc.
Examples
- 我 昨天 十 点 才 下班 。Wǒ zuótiān shí diǎn cái xiàbān.I got off work at ten o'clock yesterday.
- 他 二十 五 岁 才 上 大学 。Tā èrshí-wǔ suì cái shàng dàxué.He didn't go to college until he was 25.
- 我 老板 四十 多 岁 才 结婚 。Wǒ lǎobǎn sìshí duō suì cái jiéhūn.My boss didn't get married until he was forty.
- 你 九点 上班 ，八 点 半 才 起床 ？Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng?You get up at 8:30 while you need to show up at work at nine?
- 我们 十点 上课，老师 十 点 半 才 来 。Wǒmen shí diǎn shàngkè, lǎoshī shí diǎn bàn cái lái.We have class at 10 o'clock and the teacher didn't come until half past ten.
- 我 女儿 每天 晚上 都 十二 点 才 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。Wǒ nǚ'ér měi tiān wǎnshang dōu shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.My daughter goes to bed at 12 o'clock every day. She has too much homework.
- 你 怎么 才 来 ？我 等 了 你 半 个 多 小时 。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒ děng le nǐ bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.How come you just came? I've waited for you more than half an hour.
- 我们 找 了 一 个 多 小时 才 找到 。Wǒmen zhǎo le yī gè duō xiǎoshí cái zhǎodào.It took us more than an hour to find it.
Note that verbs following 才 cannot take 了，as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So, in the above situation, it is wrong to say:
- 昨天 晚上 我的 女儿 一点半 才 回家 了 。Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ de nǚ'ér yīdiǎn bàn cái huíjiā le.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
Websites
Category:B1 grammar points Category: Adverbs